Team
Dr. Abdoulaye Djire
Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University
Abdoulaye Djire is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University. Before joining Texas A&M, Dr. Djire was a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Chemistry and Nanoscience Center at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). He received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan. Dr. Djire is a Georgia Institute of Technology Focus Fellow, University of Michigan Tech Transfer Technology Fellow, DuPont GOLD Award recipient, and Founder & President of the Djire Foundation Inc. Dr. Djire’s research focuses on understanding the structure-function relationships controlling electrocatalytic and photocatalytic behavior of 2D carbide and nitride MXenes for applications in energy storage and conversion.
Dr. Mark Barteau
Charles D. Holland ’53 Chair
Professor, Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University
Professor, Chemistry, Texas A&M University
Mark A. Barteau holds the Charles. D. Holland ‘53 Chair at Texas A&M, with appointments in the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Department of Chemistry. He received his B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis, and his M.S. and Ph.D. from Stanford. He was an NSF Post-doctoral Fellow at the Technische Universität München. He has previously served in faculty and leadership roles at the University of Michigan and the University of Delaware. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2006, and the National Academy of Inventors in 2018. His research in surface chemistry, catalysis, and energy processes has been recognized with a number of awards, including the 2018 Lawrence K. Cecil Award in Environmental Chemical Engineering, the 2001 Alpha Chi Sigma Award, and the 1991 Allan P. Colburn Award of AIChE; the 1998 International Catalysis Award; the 1995 Ipatieff Prize from ACS; the Paul H. Emmett Award in Fundamental Catalysis, and the 1993 Canadian Catalysis Lecture Tour Award.
Ray Yoo
PhD Student
I got my bachelor’s degree in Biochemical Engineering at UC Davis in 2020. My research focuses on the the optimization of nitride MXenes for electrocatalytic applications and for spectroelectrochemical analysis.
Bright Ngozichukwu
PhD Student
I got my Bachelor Degree in Chemical Engineering at Federal University of Technology Minna, Nigeria in 2018. I am currently a First year PhD Student with research focused on electrocatalysis for CO2 reduction to value added fuels.
David Kumar Yesudoss
PhD Student
I completed my Bachelor’s in Chemical and Electrochemical Engineering at CSIR- Central Electrochemical Research Institute, India in 2019. My undergraduate research focused primarily on the performance evolution of cathodes for lithium-ion batteries. After that, I pursued my Master’s in Energy Science and Engineering at DGIST, South Korea. During my stint in the DGIST, I focused on the interfacial tuning of electrodes for electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction. Exploring zero-gap electrodes and electrolyzers for the conversion of atmospheric pollutants to value-added products is one of my research interests.
Laura Hoagland
PhD Student
A Texas native, I came back to this state for my PhD after receiving my bachelors in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University in May of 2022. I am co-advised by Dr. Mark Barteau and Dr. Abdoulaye Djire to work on the applications of MXenes for energy storage.
Eugenie Marie Pranada
PhD Student
I completed my Master’s Degree in Materials Science and Engineering at Texas A&M in 2023. For my PhD work, I will focus on the use of 2D MXenes for the electrode reactions of batteries, fuel cells, and water splitting devices.
Wynn Miholits
Undergraduate Researcher
I’m an undergraduate student studying chemical engineering at Texas A&M. I am currently focusing on the synthesis aspect of MXenes to develop novel, optimized approaches for existing structures, in addition to discovering pathways toward new synthesis strategies.
Maxie
I am a 2-month old Cheetah weighing 3 lbs of chonk. I am interested in providing emotional support to all the members and I know I’ve been doing a great job so far.
Group Alumni
Post-Doctoral Researcher
Dr. Zhi Qiao. November 2020 – April 2021 | https://www.linkedin.com/in/zhiqiao7
Graduate Researchers
Dr. Denis Johnson, Lab Manager. October 2020 – May 2024
Chemical Engineering, PhD. Summer 2024 | https://www.linkedin.com/in/denis-johnson
Vaishnavi Nemaniwar. October 2022 – June 2023
Chemical Engineering, M.Eng. Summer 2024 | https://www.linkedin.com/in/vaishnavi-n-9130581b3
Yashaswini Paleru. January 2023 – May 2023
Chemical Engineering, M.Eng. Summer 2023 | https://www.linkedin.com/in/yash88
Cheng-Che Hsiao. October 2021 – May 2023
Chemical Engineering, MS. Spring 2023 | https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheng-che-hsiao-6b883820a
Ebtihal Youssef. September 2022 – March 2023 | https://www.linkedin.com/in/ebtihal-youssef
Ekene Uwadiunor. March 2021 – December 2022
Chemical Engineering, MS. Fall 2022 | https://www.linkedin.com/in/ekene-uwadiunor-479271132
Rolf Hermanson. January 2022 – August 2022
Chemical Engineering, M.Eng. Spring 2022 | https://www.linkedin.com/in/rolf-hermanson-17504927
Undergraduate Researchers
James Kasten. February 2022 – May 2024
Chemical Engineering, BS. Spring 2024 | https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-k-523843156
Olivia Rajagopal. January 2023 – May 2024 | https://www.linkedin.com/in/oraja
Josh Honnekeri. January 2023 – May 2023
Chemical Engineering, BS. Spring 2023
Allyssa Moore. January 2023 – May 2023
Chemical Engineering, BS. Spring 2023 | https://www.linkedin.com/in/mooreofally
Kieran Tillis. September 2022 – May 2023
Chemical Engineering, BS. Spring 2023 | https://www.linkedin.com/in/kieran-tillis-73143b194
Mike Nguyen. June 2022 – May 2023
Chemical Engineering, BS. Spring 2023 | https://www.linkedin.com/in/hoang-nguyen-a10262195
Eshan Sandhu. May 2022 – July 2022
Chemical Engineering, BS. Spring 2023 | https://www.linkedin.com/in/eshan-sandhu
Kyle Hansen. May 2021 – June 2022
Chemical Engineering, M.Eng. Spring 2023 | https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-hansen-eit
Christopher Sims. January 2022 – May 2022
Chemical Engineering, BS. Spring 2022 | https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-sims25
Eric Kelley. July 2021 – December 2021
Chemical Engineering, BS. Fall 2021 | https://www.linkedin.com/in/erickelley22
Visiting Researchers
- Brock Hunter. May 2021 – July 2021
- Fatma Ahmed. May 2021 – July 2021
- Hania Elsayed. May 2021 – July 2021